Warner Bros. Wants Gary Oldman for AKIRA and ARTHUR & LANCELOT

Earlier today, the news broke that Garrett Hedlund is now in talks to take on the lead role in Jaume Collett-Serra‘s Akira remake. Upset that they weren’t the outlet to break the news, Deadline has chimed in with the old news that Warner Bros. wants Gary Oldman to play the Colonel in the long-gestating project. However, in their report Deadline also revealed that Warner Bros. wants Oldman to star in their period fantasy pic Arthur & Lancelot. The Change-Up director David Dobkin is helming the fresh take on the King Arthur legend, and we recently reported that The Killing star Joel Kinnamanhas won the role of Lancelot.

The studio is currently testing a number of actors to find their Arthur, but they apparently want Oldman to take on the role of Merlin. Whether Oldman is keen on the part remains to be seen, but he’s currently filming The Dark Knight Rises for the studio so one assumes they’ll be talking. Oldman is generating some serious awards buzz for his turn in the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, so he’s understandably fielding a number of offers at the moment. Arthur & Lancelot opens March 15th, 2013.